BACKGROUND: Coronavirus current pandemic (COVID-19) is the striking subject worldwide hitting countries in an unexplained non-universal pattern. Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine was an adopted recent justification depending on its non-specific immune activation properties. Still the problem of post-vaccine short duration of protection needs to be solved. The same protective mechanism was identified in active or latent tuberculosis (TB). For each single patient of active TB, there are about nine cases of asymptomatic latent TB apparently normal individuals living within the community without restrictions carrying benefits of immune activation and involved in re-infection cycles in an excellent example of repeated immunity training sessions of the whole community. AIM: We aimed to asses the correlation between TB burden and COVID-19 mortality in all affected countries having different BCG vaccination policies. METHODS: Publicly available data were extracted for 191 countries including population size, TB estimations, national BCG vaccination policy, the World Health Organization regions and economic classification, and COVID-19 mortality and number of cases. The analysis was performed using Spearman’s correlation test. RESULTS: Significant large negative correlation (−0.539, p < 0.001) was found between TB prevalence and COVID-19 mortality rate worldwide. Medium negative significant correlations were found between TB cases and COVID-19 mortality in the high and lower middle-income countries, and those having current BCG vaccination programs (−0.395, p = 0.001, −0.365, p = 0.015, and −0.476, p < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Countries with high TB prevalence have higher chances of protection against COVID-19 mortality through the theory of widely distributed natural immune activation within community. Confounders should be assessed separately.
With its rapid spread, the coronavirus infection shocked the world and had a huge effect on billions of peoples' lives. The problem is to find a safe method to diagnose the infections with fewer casualties. It has been shown that X-Ray images are an important method for the identification, quantification, and monitoring of diseases. Deep learning algorithms can be utilized to help analyze potentially huge numbers of X-Ray examinations. This research conducted a retrospective multi-test analysis system to detect suspicious COVID-19 performance, and use of chest X-Ray features to assess the progress of the illness in each patient, resulting in a "corona score." where the results were satisfactory compared to the benchmarked techniques. T
... Show MoreSynthetic anti-TB drugs are being used to treat tuberculosis (TB) as they are effective, however, they are accompanied by many side effects. The disease has remained largely uncured till date. The use of plant extracts or phytochemicals along with the anti-TB drugs is a very attractive strategy to make the treatment more effective as phytochemicals have no side-effects, are much less toxic than synthetic anti-TB drugs, are safe to use and most importantly, do not produce resistant strains as opposed to synthetic anti-TB drugs. Approximately 420,000 plant species have been identified globally and among them only a few have been explored for their therapeutic potential. Traditional medicine in different parts of the world has employed crud
... Show MoreThis study aims to analyze the messages of a number of global news outlets on Twitter. In order to clarify the news outlets tactics of reporting, the subjects and focus during the crisis related to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The study sample was chosen in a deliberate manner to provide descriptive results. Three news sites were selected: two of the most followed, professional and famous international news sites: New York Times and the Guardian, and one Arab news site: Al-Arabiya channel.
A total of 18,085 tweets were analyzed for the three accounts during the period from (1/3/2020) to (8/4/2020). A content analysis form was used to analyze the content of the news coverage. The results indicate an increase in th
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
... Show MoreTuberculosis continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, with an estimated annual incidence of 10.4 million worldwide. It has been estimated that 10% of patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis have musculoskeletal involvement, with the spine being the most common. Spinal tuberculosis (TB) accounts for 50% of cases of musculoskeletal tuberculosis.
Spinal tuberculosis is the result of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a secondary infection, the primary lesion of which is in the lungs, genitourinary system, or gastrointestinal tract and can be active or latent. Involvement of the vertebral segment is the result of hematogenous spread of infection along the arterial pathway or Batson's vei
... Show MoreThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the infection escalation around the globe encourage the implementation of the global protocol for standard care patients aiming to cease the infection spread. Evaluating the potency of these therapy courses has drawn particular attention in health practice. This observational study aimed to assess the efficacy of Remdesivir and Favipiravir drugs compared to the standard care patients in COVID-19 confirmed patients. One hundred twenty-seven patients showed the disease at different stages, and one hundred and fifty patients received only standard care as a control group were included in this study. Patients under the Remdesivir therapy protocol were (62.20%); meanwhile, there (30.71
... Show MoreThe post-Corona Covid-19 world is not the world before it, the problem of perception of personality traits with two axes: the characteristics of psychological and social compatibility, and the second aspect the mental disorder during the pandemic, and the accompanying precautions and prohibitions during the academic year 2020 AD. The aim of the research is to reveal the perception of the personal characteristics of Bisha University employees (students and faculty) during the Corona Covid-19 pandemic, and to reveal statistically significant differences in the perception of the personality traits of Bisha’s members during the Covid 19 according to the scientific qualification variables (female students -faculty members), marital st
... Show MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge influence on human lives all around the world. The virus spread quickly and impacted millions of individuals, resulting in a large number of hospitalizations and fatalities. The pandemic has also impacted economics, education, and social connections, among other aspects of life. Coronavirus-generated Computed Tomography (CT) scans have Regions of Interest (ROIs). The use of a modified U-Net model structure to categorize the region of interest at the pixel level is a promising strategy that may increase the accuracy of detecting COVID-19-associated anomalies in CT images. The suggested method seeks to detect and isolate ROIs in CT scans that show the existence of ground-glass opacity, which is fre
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